A Month Late and a Dollar Short: Demon Knights 1, Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE 1, Legion Lost 1, Mr. Terrific 1, Superboy 1

Demon Knights 1
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Pixels

I won't say this is my favorite comic ever, but I'm glad that Stormwatch convinced me to give this a try. Paul Cornell manages to take two characters I've never found interesting, Etrigan and Madame Xanadu, and make them interesting. He's also set up an interesting premise, bringing together a team of somewhat familiar DC characters in the Dark Ages to battle Mordru and the "Questing Queen" (should I know who she is?). It's also not lost on me that out of this team of seven, four are women, one a cross-dresser, one a paraplegic, and one a Middle Easterner. And this is centuries before diversity became cool!

Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. 1
Rating: 4 out of 5 Pixels

This is another one that I was not going to buy, but I'm glad I changed my mind. Jeff Lemire writes a solid first issue--the cast of characters is introduced, the concept and setting are fleshed out, and an engaging conflict is established right from the start. I love Father Time as a little girl, I love that Ray Palmer shows up, and I love the miniaturized floating headquarters--as I've said, I'm a sucker for cool secret hideouts.

Legion Lost 1
3 out of 5 Pixels

This is a decent story, but doesn't work so well as a first issue. I've been a Legion fan for nearly twenty years, but I don't know these characters--I know both Waid reboots much better than the classic version, and I'm not quite caught up on recent Levitz trades in order to get acquainted with characters like Tyroc, Tellus, and Chameleon Girl. Gates I know, and I'm pretty familiar with Dawnstar, Wildfire, and Timber Wolf. If I were a brand new reader reading a Legion story for the first time, though, I'd be even more lost than the titular characters here. We don't even have the little caption boxes providing name, home planet, and powers, as is common in Legion books. Also, I'll be pissed if (spoiler alert) Gates is really dead. He's one of my favorite characters from the first 90s reboot.

Mr. Terrific 1
3 out of 5 Pixels

This is an okay comic, but it didn't wow me. And I'm afraid that in order for this comic to succeed, it needs to wow people. It's a title starring a lesser-known minority character, launched in the midst of 51 other new titles. It has a strong lead character and interesting supporting characters, but the conflict is a little too vague so far to really grab onto. Here's hoping issue 2 has something more tangible to grip readers and keep this title alive.

Superboy 1
4 out of 5 Pixels

This, on the other hand, wowed me. Of the three Scott Lobdell titles, this was the one I was least excited about (hence putting it on my Month Late list), and after loving Teen Titans and hating Red Hood, I didn't know what to expect of Superboy. What I got is the most interesting take on this character since his introduction nearly twenty years ago, a well-rounded supporting cast (hey, Rose Wilson has two eyes again!), and a great narrative twist halfway through the first issue. I love the reason why Superboy ends up going to school in a small town, I love that he's fascinated by the redhead (presumably for the same reason), and I love that Lobdell seems to be picking up on the Superboy/Ravager relationship that was just blossoming in J.T. Krul's Teen Titans. I hope this leads to Ravager joining Lobdell's Titans. This title just may end up graduating to my Day-And-Date list, especially if it continues to tie closely into Teen Titans.

I have just one nitpick, though: Is it just me, or is R.B. Silva's Superboy very oddly proportioned?

He has the forearms of a gorilla! Least sexy dude in briefs I've seen in a while.

Day-And-Date: Action Comics 2, Stormwatch 2, Justice League International 2

Action Comics 2
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artists: Rags Morales, Brent Anderson, & Richard Bryant
Rating: 4 out of 5 Pixels

It's really unfortunate that Rags Morales can't handle a monthly comic for even two months, because he's a brilliant artist and this would have been a nearly perfect comic if not for the jarring disparity between the pages drawn by Morales and those drawn by Anderson. Anderson's not a bad artist, but he's no Rags Morales. The story's good enough, though, with cocky young Superman taking on the equally cocky Lex Luthor for the first time, that I think it's best they went with a fill-in artist rather than letting the issue be delayed. If only we could have our cake and eat it too...

Stormwatch 2
Writer: Paul Cornell
Artists: Miguel Sepulveda & Al Barrionueva
Rating: 4 out of 5 Pixels

Yes, more of this, please. This book has a cast of nine, I believe, and every character comes across as unique and interesting. A review I read of the first issue complained that it seemed like it was trying too hard to be a Grant Morrison book, but I disagree. Yes, Stormwatch has that same over-the-top wacky sci-fi feel that Morrison's JLA or All-Star Superman or Final Crisis did, but whereas I had to read Final Crisis three times after the entire miniseries was finished and still I didn't totally get it, Stormwatch is much easier to follow. The only thing I do not approve of is J'onn's funky loincloth thingee. Because seriously, that's just weird.

Justice League International 2
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Artists: Aaron Lopestri & Matt Ryan
Rating: 3 out of 5 Pixels

I enjoyed this issue a little more than the first issue, mostly because I went in with lowered expectations. The plot is interesting, between the global threat that necessitates an international Justice League's involvement and the challenge Booster has in bringing his team together in order to meet the threat. I also appreciate that Jurgens cleared up a little of the characters' backstory, establishing that Guy and Tora have only been on a few dates, but Guy obviously cares for her--enough to bring him back to the team after abandoning them last issue. And the art is simply beautiful. The thing that makes this book difficult to read, though, is cringe-worthy exchanges like this:

Or this:

With the most truly international Justice League International roster yet, this book has the potential to be really cool. It's not going to get there, though, as long as it comes across as the Justice League of International Stereotypes. Please, Mr. Jurgens, flesh these characters out beyond squabbles over Russian vs. Chinese superiority, and pretty please, even if no one else on the team bothers to differentiate between the various countries of Africa, let Vixen do so.

Day-And-Date: Action Comics 1, Batgirl 1, Justice League International 1, Stormwatch 1

Today I was so anxious to read all four comics I bought, I had a hard time deciding which to read first. (I ended up reading them in alphabetical order, unintentionally.) This is what Wednesdays should be like. I hope the New 52 continue to hold my interest even after they're no longer new.

Action Comics 1
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artists: Rags Morales & Richard Bryant
Release Date: September 7, 2011
Rating: 4 out of 5 Pixels

Definitely an action-packed issue deserving of its title. I'm impressed that Grant Morrison has managed to give Superman a personality makeover that somehow still feels true to the character. I suppose it's because Superman is still all about truth, justice, and the American way, but it's no longer the truth, justice, and the American way of a 1950s suburban America, as it has been for the past sixty years. Rather it's truth in the face of a corrupt system, justice for the underdog, and the American way of the average American struggling to get by. This interpretation feels like a return to the character's Depression-era roots and wholly 21st-century at the same time. So far I'm liking this new Superman.

Batgirl 1
Writer: Gail Simone
Artists: Ardian Syaf & Vicente Cifuentes
Release Date: September 7, 2011
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Pixels

This is a fun, upbeat comic, as you would expect from a comic written by Gail Simone and starring Barbara Gordon. Babs is back in action and enjoying it. This issue reassures readers that The Killing Joke did still happen and it remains an important part of the character's history, and it also tells us that some "miracle" has happened to allow Barbara to walk again, but it doesn't tell us what that miracle is, exactly. I hope it's explained before long, as this series really needs to move forward and so long as that mystery is unsolved then we readers will be stuck at "How did we get here?" I was also disappointed that we didn't see much reference to Barbara's time as Oracle--where are her computers, her hacking skills, her connections with everyone who's anyone in the superhero community? These aspects of the character need to be kept in order for this to feel like a move forward and not two steps backward. I do, however, like the new villain introduced in this issue, a man who flashes victims with the mirror under his trench coat, apparently making them see their sins before he kills them.

I was also shocked by this:

Has Jim Gordon been de-aged so much that he's a redhead again, or has he just started dyeing his hair? Inquiring minds want to know!

Justice League International 1
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Artist: Aaron Lopestri
Release Date: September 7, 2011
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Pixels

I really want to like this comic, as it has several characters I like, it's by a writer who's written stuff I enjoyed in the past, it has a great artist, and it's the first Justice League International that is not composed mostly of white Americans, but several things just aren't working for me:

• Andre Briggs, the guy who founded this League, comes off as Max Lord Lite.
• I'm totally cool with Rocket Red speaking like a Russian stereotype because that's his shtick, but when Russia's U.N. representative also says things like "Da, da! Now I must give to you the fine cognac," it makes it seem like the writer just doesn't know how to write Russians any other way. 
• I cannot get over the W on Booster Gold's collar. Why a W?

• I like that Booster is leading this League, but otherwise the return to Booster as glory hog feels like a regression for the character. 
• It's clear that none of these characters have been on a Justice League before, and that feels weird. I think it's more confusing that DC decided to do a soft reboot because at least if they'd done a hard reboot we'd know that everything is starting over from scratch. This way, I don't know who's met whom and who's done what before. As a result, the characters seem foreign.
• For a first issue, this comic doesn't do a good job of introducing the characters. I know everyone's names, but I know very little about who they all are. What does Godiva do? What is August General in Iron's deal? I have no idea. 

I hope Jurgens wows me in the next couple of issues, because I really do want to like this comic.

Stormwatch 1
Writer: Paul Cornell
Artist: Miguel Angel Sepulveda
Release date: September 7, 2011
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Pixels

Wow. This comic did several things that Justice League International failed to do. First, it introduced each of the characters in such a way that I have a good idea who each of them is, without being super-familiar with these characters before reading the issue. There are a few moments that border on too expositiony, with characters explaining things that they would not likely explain in real life, but this didn't take away from my enjoyment at all. Second, Stormwatch has me interested in the conflict from the get-go. There's a sense that something very big is going down, and these characters are in the thick of it. Third, the cliffhanger actually left me hanging, wondering how Midnighter and Apollo are going to fit into the larger scheme of things. As an added bonus, Paul Cornell actually managed to pique my interest in the other New 52 series he's writing, Demon Knights. I have zero interest in medieval swords and sorcery, but there's a brief sequence that suggests a possible connection between Stormwatch and Demon Knights (is the connection that Etrigan's team of knights are really the first Stormwatch?), which just might be enough to get me to check out the latter.

After Superman: The Black Ring, Knight and Squire, and now Stormwatch, I haven't yet read a Paul Cornell book I didn't enjoy immensely. So maybe I'll give Demon Knights a try after all.

Unpixelated Panels: Knight and Squire 1-6

Knight and Squire 1-6
Writer: Paul Cornell
Artist: Jimmy Broxton
Release Date: October 2010 - March 2011
Rating: 5 out of 5 Pixels

I could swear I'd seen this entire miniseries listed on Comixology, but I just checked now and all I can find is a ten-page preview of the first issue. This is a shame, not only because this is one of the most enjoyable miniseries I've read in a long time, but because it's a miniseries made up almost entirely of single-issue stories, which I think works really well for the digital format--for your buck ninety-nine, you get a complete experience. You'd enjoy it enough to want to buy the other issues, to be sure, but it's nice to feel like you've gotten your money's worth with just one issue. You wouldn't be happy, for example, if you bought a song on iTunes, only to find you really only got one-sixth of a song. You know you're getting only part of an album, but you expect to get an entire song. The problem with too many monthly comics lately is that they're not written like songs that are part of an album, but like parts of a single song.

Knight and Squire, refreshingly, does not have this problem. Each of the first four issues has a unique conflict that is resolved by the end of the issue, and even though issue five ends on a cliffhanger that leads into issue six, each of the two issues has its own definite beginning, middle, and end. At the same time, there are plot threads and recurring themes throughout the miniseries that tie all the stories together, so there is added value to listening to the album as a whole, as it were. This is how serial comics should be written, especially if they are to be sold as single units digitally whose ultimate destiny is not necessarily the trade collection.

And I haven't even gotten to what makes Knight and Squire truly awesome. The main characters, of course, are meant to be the British version of Batman and Robin, members of the Silver Age International Club of Heroes and reinvented by Grant Morrison in more recent years. Paul Cornell takes the Morrison version of the characters and makes them completely his own. The result is nothing like a Batman and Robin story--not even a British Batman and Robin story. Instead, it's a purely original story, both hilarious and touching, that delves into the world of British superheroes and supervillains, a world of crazy adventure and eccentricity, defined at the opening of the first issue as a mix of trade, hobby, and fetish. This is a world that at once emulates American superhero culture and rises above it, as would be expected of "stiff upper-lipped" Brits who are civilized enough to stop fighting at the end of the day and sit down for a drink with their enemies. As characters point out more than once, "It's complicated." Perhaps most impressively, this is a world populated by more than 130 characters who are unique creations of Cornell and artist Jimmy Broxton.

A few highlights of the series:

• Text pages at the end of each issue explain the British references for readers who, "through no fault of their own... are from the colonies"... "(not that there's anything wrong with that)."
• When a scientist brings Richard III back from the dead, he speaks in iambic pentameter, rhyming couplets, and spoken asides, just as he does when written by Shakespeare. (And then notes on his Twunter feed, "It is hard to fit rhyming couplets into 140 characters.")
• Knight's butler, Hank Hackenbacker, is an American dressed in cowboy attire who speaks in some vaguely Texan/southern accent, to parallel Batman's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, a Brit dressed in formal attire who speaks in some vaguely British, equally stereotypical accent. 
• When Squire gets in a fight with her new boyfriend, the word balloon for each of them reads "<Captain Haddock Style Swearword Icons.>"
• One of the 130+ new characters created for this miniseries is Birthday Girl, a superheroine who fights crime in the nude, surrounded by conveniently placed "modesty balloons." I especially love that when Birthday Girl is speaking to Knight and Squire via the large-screen video phone that all superheroes use rather than conventional phones, a black box with the word "Inappropriate" covers her breasts. Because of course any decent superhero would have censorship software installed on his video phone.

But the above bullet list doesn't fully capture Knight and Squire. Amidst all this wackiness and British humor, there are true moments of poignance, heroism, heartbreak, and introspection on both individual and cultural levels. To get the full experience, you'll just have to read the miniseries yourself. Hopefully it will be made available digitally, to make it easier for you to do so.